Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with the heads of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Russia is interested in bolstering political dialogue with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and developing trade and economic ties with the countries of the region, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with the heads of the GCC member states’ delegations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

As a source in Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, "there was a deep exchange of views on the further development of multifaceted ties between Russia and the GCC countries, maintaining active political contacts on different levels, enhancing cooperation in the trade and economic fields, and in investment and humanitarian areas." The parties also discussed the pressing issues facing the Middle East, paying particular attention to the prospects for a political settlement of the Syrian crisis and other regional crises as well. The question of joining international efforts to combat the terrorist threat was also raised.

"We are interested in deepening the political dialogue with the GCC on the key issues of international relations, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa," Lavrov stated during the meeting. "We believe that it is within our power to improve the coordination of shared approaches to a number of conflicts and create favorable conditions for this war-torn region to move from crisis to peace, stability and development. We also value the discussions with our partners on maintaining the efficiency of anti-terror efforts, promoting dialogue between civilizations in multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies that should be preserved and live in peace."

"Another issue that we have recently started to discuss with our friends from the GCC, is the development of trade and economic cooperation, be it energy cooperation, cooperation in the field of transportation infrastructure, innovation or modern technology including the peaceful use of nuclear energy," the Russian foreign minister noted. "We have started to cooperate in implementing some interesting and promising agreements with a number of the GCC member states, including the establishment of a multi-beneficial joint investment platform."

The meeting’s participants highlighted the importance of joint efforts in the framework of strategic dialogue between Russian and the GCC, the fourth meeting of which was held in Moscow in May. The parties agreed to accelerate the mutual approval of the Russia-GCC Common Action Plan effective in 2016-2020 and have an in-depth discussion on the Concept of Security in the Persian Gulf, prepared by Russia.